Cushioned fracture bedpan



April 9, 1963 A. M. PARKER ETAL I 3,084,348

CUSHIONED FRACTURE BEDPAN Filed July 27, 1961 J44 vaern M. Roe/ 52 PAULJ [12/80/925 /3 INVENTORS.

rates trite This invention relates to bedpans and particularly tofracture bed pans.

When caring for a patient in a hospital, who has suffered a fracture ofone or more of the bones of the body, the body of the patient isnecessarily practically immobilized so that it is quite difficult toinsert a bedpan between the bed and the patient and remove the same.Because of these limitations it is a general practice to use, in suchcases, an uncushioned shallow bedpan known as a fracture bedpan. When itis necessary for a patient to rest upon this pan more than a short time,it is quite uncomfortable due to the cutting of the peripheral edge ofthe bedpan into the flesh of the patient.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a cushioned fracturebedpan which presents a soft padded surface about its entire perimeterto the flesh of the patient when inserted beneath the patient.

The discomfort experienced by th patient in the use of fracture bedpansin accordance with the common practice above described, is increased bythe difficulty of removing the bedpan from beneath the patient after thebedpan has become pressed deep into the flesh of the patient, thisdifliculty being aggravated by the small amount of space between thepatient and the bed in which the nurse must work.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cushionedfracture bedpan which has its entire perimeter cushioned in its contactwith the body of the patient but which may readily be inserted and thenwithdrawn from beneath the patient without discomfort being suffered bythe patient.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as furtherobjects and advantages, will be made manifest in the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in whichFIG. 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention drawnapproximately to true scale and partially broken away to show the hiddenstructure of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the cushioned fracture bedpan shownin FIG. 1, end portions of the latter being broken away to show thestructure thereof in sec tion.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFIG. 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings the invention is there shown asembodied in a cushioned fracture bedpan which includes a bedpan vessel11 of a peculiar wedge shape and tapered plan configuration and acushioned platform 12 which is slideably associated with said vessel.

The vessel 11 has a flat bottom "13, a semi-circular high end wall 14, asemi-circular low end wall 15, sharply converging sidewalls 16 whichmerge tangentially at their ends with end walls 14 and 15, and a shortendless flange 17 which lies in a flat plane which sharply convergesrelative to plane of the bottom 13. Flange 17 extends outwardly from theupper edges of end walls 1 and and sidewalls 16, and merges with a deck18 having a concave edge :19 which lies in the same plane as the flange17 and is integral therewith so as to cover an extremely shallow endportion 21) of the vessel 11 adjacent the end wall 15.

The vessel 11 also has a handle 21 which is formed integral with the endwall 14 and extends outwardly therefrom parallel with the plane of thebottom 13.

The platform 12 includes a flat base 25 which is preferably made of hardrubber or some equivalent stiff material. This base lies fiat againstthe flange '17 and deck 18 of the vessel 11 and has an opening 26 whichconforms to the opening of the bedpan formed by upper edges of end wall14, sidewalls 16 and edge 19 of the deck '18, this base having amarginal portion 27 which extends outwardly beyond the outer edge of theflange 17. Formed integral with the base 27 and extending downwardlyfrom the marginal portion 27 thereof opposite the sidewalls 16 are apair of bosses 28 having grooves 29 for receiving the straight portionsof the flange 17 extending laterally from said sidewalls. The platform12 also includes a soft rubber pad 30 which conforms to the shape of thebase 25, lies flat against the upper surface of the latter, and hassemi-circular lips 31 and 32 which extend downward ly respectively aboutthe curved end edges of base 25 to retain the pad 3%) stretched in placeon top of said base. The platform 12. is adapted to be optionally madewith the pad 30 as a separate element from the base 25 and readilyseparable therefrom for sterilizing purposes, or on the other hand, thepad 30 may be bonded to the base 25 so that these may be sterilizedtogether and never be separated.

Operation As above indicated, the cushioned fracture bedpan 10 of thepresent invention is especially adapted for use in the care of a patientsuffering from bone fracture which necessitates practically immobilizingthe body of the patient. A considerable problem is thus presented in theintroduction of a bedpan under the patient and in the removal of thebedpan therefrom. Because of this problem it has become a practice touse uncushioned bedpans in caring for such patients which cut into theflesh of the patient and are not only uncomfortable to the patient butrender it more diflicult to remove the bedpan after the patient has laidupon it for a few minutes.

The invention overcomes this problem in the following way. The cushionedplatform 12 is first inserted beneath the patient and as this takes arelatively small space and as its upper surface is padded by the pad 30this may be easily done without discomfort to the patient. The vessel 11of the bedpan is then inserted under the platform 12 with the very thinend portion 20 of the vessel entering underneath the wider end portionof the platform. The vessel 11 is thus slid under the platform 12 untilthe vessel becomes wedged between the bosses 28 with the flanges 17entering the grooves 29 as shown in the drawings, and particularly inFIG. 3. The patient is thus subjected to a minimum of frictionalengagement with the flanges 17 of the vessel 11 as the vessel 11 isseparated from the patient by the platform 12 during this movement ofsliding the vessel into place beneath the platform.

While the patient is resting on the bedpan 14) his contact with this isrendered comfortable by the pad 30 having direct contact with the bodyof the patient. The removal of the bedpan 10 from beneath the patient isalso made relatively easy by the facility with which the vessel 11 maybe withdrawn from beneath the platform 12 by seizing the handle 21 ofthe vessel and pulling this out from under the platform while the latterremains in contact with the body of the patient between the patient andthe bed. The operation is then completed by sliding the platform 12horizontally from between the patient and the bed.

It is thus seen that in the cushioned fracture bedpan 10 of the presentinvention we have produced a combined bedpan vessel and cushionedplatform which eliminates .3 7 much of the discomfort from using bedpansexperienced at present by fracture patients.

We claim:

1. In combination:v a bedpan which is wedge shaped longitudinally bothin vertical and horizontal planes so as to be much shallower at itsnarrow end than at its opposite end, said bedpan having an upwardlyfacing opening surrounded by a perimetral laterally extending flangewhich lies in a flat plane which converges at a sharp angle relative tothebo-ttom of the bedpan; and a flat platform adapted to lie fiatagainst said flange and covering the same and having inwardly grooveddownwardly extending diverging bosses for, receiving converging portionsof said flange when said bedpan is inserted beneath said platform as awedge to tilt said platform upwardly from a position resting on asupporting surface such as a bed, until said flange is wedged tightly insaid bosses with said platform superimposed over and flat against saidflange, said platform having a closed opening therein conforming to theaforesaid opening of said bedpan and extending a substantial distanceoutward beyond the outer edge of said flange to provide a relativelyample perimetral supporting surface for the body of a patient, comparedto that provided by said bedpan without said platform, the sharp angleof convergence of said flange plane and said bottom of said bedpancausing the narrower end of said platform to remain in contact with saidbed during the insertion of said bedpan beneath said platform at leastuntil said bedpan is approximately within a distance of one-quarter thelength of said platform from its completely inserted position under saidplatform.

2. A device for facilitating the insertion'of a fracture bedpan beneatha patient and the removal of such bedpan therefrom Where said bedpan iswedge shaped longitudinally both in vertical and horizontal planes so asto be much shallower at its narrow end than at the opposite end, saidbedpan having an upwardly facing opening surrounded by a narrow perimetral laterally extending flange which surrounds said opening and lies ina fiat plane which converges at a sharp angle relative to the bottom ofthe vessel, said device comprising: a flat platform adapted to lie flatagainst said bedpan flange and covering the same and having inwardlygrooved downwardly extending diverging bosses for receiving convergingportions of said bedpan flange when the latter is inserted beneath saidplatform as a wedge to tilt said platform upwardly from resting on asupporting surface such as a bed, until said flange is wedged tightly insaid bosses withsaid platform superimposed over and flat against saidflange, said platform having a closed opening therein conforming to theaforesaid opening of said bedpan and extending a substantial distanceoutward beyond the outer edge of said flange to provide a relativelyample perimetral supporting surface for the body of a patient, comparedto that provided by said bedpan without said platform, the sharp angleof convergence of said flange plane and said bottom of said vesselcausing the narrower end of said platform to remain in contact with saidbed during the insertion of said bedpan beneath said platform at leastuntil said bedpan is approximately Within a distance of one-quarter thelength of said platform from its completely inserted position under saidplatform, said bedpan likewise being withdrawable from beneath saidpatient in the opposite direction from which it was inserted under saidplatform without moving said platform horizontally relative to saidpatient.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,886,827 Washington May 17, 1959

1. IN COMBINATION: A BEDPAN WHICH IS WEDGE SHAPED LONGITUDINALLY BOTH INVERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL PLANES SO AS TO BE MUCH SHALLOWER AT ITS NARROWEND THAN AT ITS OPPOSITE END, SAID BEDPAN HAVING AN UPWARDLY FACINGOPENING SURROUNDED BY A PERIMETRAL LATERALLY EXTENDING FLANGE WHICH LIESIN A FLAT PLANE WHICH CONVERGES AT A SHARP ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE BOTTOMOF THE BEDPAN; AND A FLAT PLATFORM ADAPTED TO LIE FLAT AGAINST SAIDFLANGE AND COVERING THE SAME AND HAVING INWARDLY GROOVED DOWNWARDLYEXTENDING DIVERGING BOSSES FOR RECEIVING CONVERGING PORTIONS OF SAIDFLANGE WHEN SAID BEDPAN IS INSERTED BENEATH SAID PLATFORM AS A WEDGE TOTILT SAID PLATFORM UPWARDLY FROM A POSITION RESTING ON A SUPPORTINGSURFACE SUCH AS A BED, UNTIL SAID FLANGE IS WEDGED TIGHTLY IN SAIDBOSSES WITH SAID PLATFORM SUPERIMPOSED OVER AND FLAT AGAINST SAIDFLANGE, SAID PLATFORM HAVING A CLOSED OPENING THEREIN CONFORMING TO THEAFORESAID OPENING OF SAID BEDPAN AND EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCEOUTWARD BEYOND THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID FLANGE TO PROVIDE A RELATIVELYAMPLE PERIMETRAL SUPPORTING SURFACE FOR THE BODY OF A PATIENT, COMPAREDTO THAT PROVIDED BY SAID BEDPAN WITHOUT SAID PLATFORM, THE SHARP ANGLEOF CONVERGENCE OF SAID FLANGE PLANE AND SAID BOTTOM OF SAID BEDPANCAUSING THE NARROWER END OF SAID PLATFORM TO REMAIN IN CONTACT WITH SAIDBED DURING THE INSERTION OF SAID BEDPAN BENEATH SAID PLATFORM AT LEASTUNTIL SAID BEDPAN IS APPROXIMATELY WITHIN A DISTANCE OF ONE-QUARTER THELENGTH OF SAID PLATFORM FROM ITS COMPLETELY INSERTED POSITION UNDER SAIDPLATFORM.